From October 2018 through April 2019 the Guggenheim Museum in New York City is exhibiting the monumental works of artist and mystic Hilma af Klint. The solo exhibition, “Paintings from the Future,” has on display astoundingly mystical, large format paintings, as well as exquisite works on paper. One notable gallery room — which has become a must-Instagram for those in the art world — includes a dozen epic works that scale ten feet high.

This December the Gagosian gallery, located on Park Ave. and 75th Street in New York City, presented about a half dozen of Spencer Sweeney’s latest works. The figurative painter, who is also a DJ and club owner, has been a legend of the Downtown scene for two decades. Sweeney’s latest works exemplify his approach to life and art, now as ever before, as free, spontaneous and full of vibrant energy.

n the original Greek myth, Persephone begins as the maiden of eternal springtime, the youthful and naive “mother’s daughter.” Then she is abducted, taken to the underworld by Hades. There, Persephone wallows, and her mother, Demeter longs after her. Demeter demands her daughter back, and Hades agrees, but slyly offers Persephone a seed of the pomegranate first.

As I took in the “Finger in the Hive” show, it became increasingly apparent that the artist had painted herself in various guises. The impressive oil paintings featured a diverse set of female characters, many of which were adolescent or children, often set amongst a cinematic sunset, the colors bursting with an internal fire.

Ruby Sky Stiler invigorates her work with a practice which acknowledges the vitalizing effect of metabolizing diverse material. It is this reconfiguration of the past and present in her work which is so appealing.

It has been very joyous for me to discover a community of artists and enthusiasts exploring the matters of the psyche through art. SEED, a group show curated by Yvonne Force Villareal, focuses on themes of the feminine as mystery and the importance of the mystical mind. It does so with expressive excellence, in the form of paintings, sculptures and mixed media works.

The “D’Madsoille de Instagram” series, presented by Tibor de Nagy, offers an opportunity to delve into these matters and contemplate what it means to consume and therefore support the production of objectifying, sexualized images today.

Whether it has been men’s reductive treatment of women, the courtesans of history, or Instagram models using their sexualized bodies as a basis for a career, an inner relationship to the archetypal feminine that is limited and ruled by libido is at the core.

I strive to create work that is visually accessible and yet plunges the depths of the psyche, renewing perennial themes with a modern perspective. The hope is for viewers to discover a body of work that is personal, and yet universal.

Paintings are essentially about communication — that is, of an idea, an emotion, either ambiguous or direct, purposeful. After completing the work in October 2017, the painting was rolled-up and set aside. It wasn’t until Johannes Böckmann, a German theological student contacted me wishing to collect several works. Among those he was drawn to was the “Pastoral Scene.” When I asked him what the painting meant to him, the way in which he understood the symbolic content, touching down to the archetypal core, was astounding. His reaction reconnected me with the painting.

During this past Christmas holiday, I went to Ithaca, New York to visit my girlfriend’s family. During my stay, we stopped by a friend’s house, two Cornell professors. They asked about my career and were enthusiastic about my work as an oil painting. Upon viewing my portfolio, a lively conversation and series of ideas sparked in their minds.

Samuel Abelow, with the paintings, Eros and Logos, realizes a contemplative intensity with an ambitious diptych. His world is rendered with a deep spirituality, while simultaneously grounded in the great backdrop of art history.

Paul Gauguin, throughout his painting career, remained attached to this unconscious relationship with the anima complex, and its corresponding projections. This is evident in the fact that the recovery of his own savage nature and pursuit of a lasting art was dependent on a relationship with Tahitian women.

My sanctuary in recent years has always been the beach, which I try to spend as much time at in the summer. Maybe it’s because I was born in July, or maybe it’s because my particular physiology prefers the beaming summer sun, and the humid, hot air (attributes which caused my younger sister label me a “salamander). The summer of 2017 was no exception.

Paul Gauguin, a painter of the 1890’s, achieved an immortality through his art. Much of his drive to create was a compulsion in which he sacrificed his well-being to achieve. Yet, the contents of his imagination and intellect live on in the cultural canon of Western art, and his aesthetics propagated a new vision of art, influencing the likes of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. The psychological power behind such a drive will be explored in this essay, along with much more.

This style, known as Cloissonism or Synthetism, was developed in the late 1890s by famous artists such as Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. Other, lesser-known proponents were Maurice Denis, Cumo Amiet and Emile Bonnard, who have all influenced me greatly. The use of strong colors, visible paint strokes and thickened shapes, broadly outlined seems to come naturally to me.

The series of drawings fluidly streamed onto the page. This is because the artistic inspiration stems from what Carl Jung describes as “the undifferentiated chaos of the magical mentality” [1]. However, I strive to understand the processes of creation and the drives behind the images I create.

The excessive technological stimulation causes many of us to ignore the Life which exists in slow and open moments when we are able to absorb each other and the world around us. Recognition of the downtempo pace of a pre-technological existence is a needed counterbalance.

Flashy screens, moving images, endless songs to stream and infinite news stories are all alluring. Widely accessible content, from comedy to calamity, becomes addictive to our minds which are designed for curiosity. Please, in the days after reading this pay attention to your own habits.

April is of course a transitional month, as winter moves into spring. The weather was no doubt chaotic and unusual; this seemed to effect me greatly. Further, it perturbed and baffled me slightly to notice how, despite a bodily fatigue and mental tiredness, interesting and sustaining compositions continually arose.

There are two painters I currently admire above all the rest, although there are many examples enduring works of art. The first is Paul Gauguin, who painted actively in the late 1890’s. The second is Sandro Chia. I attended Chia’s first exhibit in New York City after a decade, at the Marc Straus gallery this late winter, early spring 2017. On display were a couple dozen affecting and mature paintings.

I have been established as a dweller among the shining ones; and the underworld has been opened up. I have divided the heavens, I have passed through the horizon, I have traversed the earth. I am borne away by the mighty and shining ones because, behold, I am furnished with millions of years which have magic virtues.